Himalayas & China 2005: 20 - Honolulu to Costa Rica

Monday, November 7, 2005

It was noon before we got out of the hotel to find some breakfast. We stopped by a camera store where Marilynn got some good advice as to where she could find what she wanted at the best price. I had expected a camera superstore, but it was a hole in the wall husband & wife operation stacked to the roof with the latest equipment. They had a demonstrator of the lens she was looking for, and she was excited to find it would cost $600 below KL or anywhere else she had seen it. They said they would have a new one delivered by noon tomorrow. It did make the $15 cab fare worthwhile.

They called us a taxi to get back to the hotel, and we liked the driver so made arrangements for him to take us to the airport tomorrow. Marilynn wandered off to do more shopping while I sat on our 22nd floor balcony and did a little writing while watching surfers out in the ocean. Vegetating in warm weather with a good view feels pretty good about now!

After Marilynn returned we went looking for a place to have dinner, starting with the restaurants along the beach. Each was rejected for menu, wait time, bad service or décor until we ran out of beach locations. We then headed inland eliminating one restaurant after another. We sat down in one, but gave up after a long wait with no service. It amazes me how many places offer super expensive drinks but don't hire enough staff to serve them! Apparently the going wage for waiters is $20 a day plus tips, so the profit from one client would pay a waiter for the night.

After walking a large circle we found ourselves back at our local pub in the International Market so went in for a feed of delicious spareribs. Later we hit a beach bar for nightcaps. Surprisingly, everything closes by midnight! So much for swinging Waikiki!

Tuesday, November 8, 2005

Another late start this morning, but we had to check out of the hotel by 11 AM - this lower end Sheraton does not have late check out but has baggage storage. We used a good Internet place conveniently located near our local pub. After lunch and some beer we sat and read in the hotel lobby until our taxi collected us. The monster camera lens Marilynn bought was ready to go, then after a slow ride in heavy traffic we arrived at the airport.

The flights back were good and on time. I got some sleep (thanks to Dr. Hayes pills) on the reclining sleeper seats between Honolulu and Houston. Our caretaker was waiting at the airport in Costa Rica, & got us home by about 1:30 PM. All seemed well on the home front, and it was great to snuggle into our own bed!

The next trip will be January until March, and will be trains, planes and automobiles. It will include a 17-day trip on the Shongololo Southern Cross Train Safari arranged by Wild African Ventures Inc. We'll start in South Africa, and then travel to Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Zambia. From there we'll fly to Malawi and on to the islands of Comoros, Reunion, Rodriguez and Mauritania. From Mauritania we'll fly to New Delhi to spend a week on the Palace Train, reputedly the most luxurious train in the world. Then it will be on to Cochin and the Lakshadweep Islands, Sri Lanka, Chennai (formerly Madras), the Andaman Islands and home via Hong Kong. Stay tuned!!

If anyone has the urge to visit less travelled destinations, I'd recommend you get in touch with Bestway Tours: bestway@bestway.com or check their web site, www.bestway.com They are the best I've found for seamless travel to various countries. They organize both independent and group trips. I also give the highest recommendation to Sonam Dorjee and his Nirvana Expeditions in Bhutan. He can be contacted at sonam.dorjee@nirvanaexpeditions.com, or his web site is www.nirvanaexpeditions.com